Karan Johar talks about the hate he received online during pandemic, calls it unfair

Filmmaker Karan Johar is often trolled on social media for numerous reasons. He is targeted for being biased, for nepotism, for his love life and for not supporting new actors. In a recent interview, he addressed the hate he receives on social media and said it was something he ‘never envisaged, imagined’. Speaking with Bollywood Hungama, Karan talked about the first few months of COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of the anti-Bollywood sentiment. ‘Bollywood went through a really tough time with all the trolling and bashing that was happening. It was not a nice time. I, particularly, felt I was right at the centre of so much negativity. It was something I never envisaged, imagined. I felt there was so much being said and written that was unfair,’ he said. Karan said that to be resilient was very important at that point of time and he felt the only way to go past the negativity was to focus on work, which is what he did. ‘Yet, one had to chin up and move on. Because eventually, I am accountable to my company, to my mum, my family. I just felt I had to be stronger and take it all in my stride. To be resilient was very important at that point of time. It was just so unnecessary and I am glad, we could go past that and focus on work. That’s what I did. I put all my thoughts on work zone. Maybe not everybody came out as a stronger human being, but I’d like to say there were many,’ he added. Karan Johar’s next directorial venture ‘Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani’ will release in 2023. The film stars Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan, and Shabana Azmi.